Ellen DeGeneres show’s St. Patrick’s Day visit to Ireland a massive boost for tourism - VIDEO

The recent broadcast of Dublin's St. Patrick's Day celebrations on the Ellen DeGeneres Show this week was worth more than €2m in advertising value, according to Tourism Ireland.

An audience of almost five million American TV viewers saw images of Dublin and Ireland when they tuned in to the show on Wednesday, 21st March. The broadcast follows a trip by one of the show's presenters, Andy Zenor, to Ireland to join in and film our St. Patrick's Day celebrations.

DeGeneres tweeted about Zenor's time in Ireland to her 10+ million followers (@TheEllenShow), saying "I sent Andy Zenor to Ireland for St. Patrick's Day. Had I known it would be this much fun, I would've gone with him", and including a link to the footage.In the broadcast aired in the US, Zenor described the people he met in Ireland as "amazing" and the visit as "the trip of a lifetime".

"The Ellen Show on the NBC network is hugely popular in the US and this broadcast was a fantastic opportunity to spread the good news about Ireland to a huge audience of millions of viewers – or potential American holidaymakers for Ireland," said Niall Gibbons, chief executive of Tourism Ireland.

"We are undertaking strong campaigns in the US, which are highlighting great value and urging consumers to 'jump into Ireland' and to include Ireland in their vacation plans for 2012," he said. "In our promotions, we promise potential visitors an experience that will be unique, full of engagement and great fun – which was certainly demonstrated by Andy Zenor on The Ellen Show. With great access and attractive on-the-ground offers, we believe the island of Ireland is well positioned to deliver what an American holidaymaker wants."